Blackjack Strategy
As with most games, Basic Blackjack Strategy is essential if you want to come home from the Blackjack experience a winner. Employing Good Blackjack Strategy isn't terribly complex, but it does require that you commit some straight forward plays to memory. The following Online Blackjack Strategy Guide can help accomplish this...
Blackjack - Dealer Strategy
Blackjack Dealers must always play their hand in a specific way. That's right, the Blackjack Dealer has no choice as to how to play his hand, the house always dictates the Basic Blackjack Strategy the dealer is to employ. There are only two common strategies that will determine when a Blackjack Dealer will draw or stand, and it is no secret as to which strategy any one particular casino is using. You can tell by looking at the Blackjack Table top. One of the following rules will be clearly stated on a Blackjack Casino Table."Dealer stands on all 17s"... This is the most common rule and means the dealer must keep taking cards until his hand total is 17 or greater. An Ace in the dealer's hand is always counted as 11 so long as the total remains under 21.
"Dealer hits soft 17"... This is a variation on the "Dealer stands on all 17's" rule, and is used by some casinos. When the dealer has a "soft" total of 17, he hits. Otherwise the rules the same. When this rule is used, the house advantage against the players is slightly increased.
The Blackjack Dealer also cannot split pairs, but must instead simply hit until he reaches at least 17 or busts by going over 21.
So, it would appear that the real objective of Casino Blackjack is to "Break the Blackjack Dealer".
Blackjack - Strategy
For most people, the object of Blackjack has always been to get 21 or be dealt Blackjack, but that is not the Best Strategy to employ when Playing Blackjack, nor is it the Best Winning Blackjack Strategy.
The object of Blackjack isn't to get 21, it is to have a hand closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over 21... and the other Blackjack Player's at the table don't matter. You are not Playing Blackjack against them, nor are they playing against you. Your Blackjack Hand is strictly played out against the hand of the dealer, and remember, the rules of play for the Casino Blackjack Dealer are strictly dictated and enforced. The Dealer doesn't have a Blackjack Strategy of his or her own, but rather has no say in how he or she plays out their hand. Always keep this in mind when Playing Blackjack and use it to your advantage.
In reality, you would be correct from an Effective Blackjack Strategy perspective, if you said the objective in a Game of Blackjack is to "Break the Dealer". The reason being, that the Blackjack Dealer has no choice but to "Hit", up to and including a 17 hand (some Blackjack Casino's hold on a "soft" 17). Now, take into consideration this...
- The odds of the dealer busting increase as his total approaches 17
- By standing, even with a low total, the player eliminates any chance of busting
So, does it not make sense that a Good Blackjack Strategy is to "stand low", thus eliminating any possibility of busting, while at the same time waiting out the dealers turn to bust? Add to this Basic Blackjack Strategy, that you begin betting low and double your wager every time you lose. If you have the bank roll to hang in there through a few loses, you "stand low" when appropriate to do so, and you wait for the dealer to bust, you will always eventually come out ahead.
- Always stand on hard 17 or higher if the dealer's showing card is 7 or lower.
- Always stand on hard 13 through 16 if the dealer's showing card is 6 or lower, but hit if the dealer's showing card is 7 through Ace.
- Always stand on hard 12 or higher if the dealer is showing 4, 5 or 6.
Blackjack - More Basic Strategy
- Hit a hard 12 if the dealer's up card is 2, 3, 7 or higher.
- Hit until you have at least 17 against a dealer's 10.
- Hit a soft 17 against a dealer's 10.
Standing on 17 and lower relies entirely on the dealer's busting to win. Since you cannot bust a soft hand with just one hit, the following is Good Basic Blackjack Playing Strategy:
- Hit soft 13 through 17 against a dealer's 7 or higher
- With hands of three or more cards, always hit soft 13 through 17
- Double down with two-card soft 13 through 17 against a dealer's 5 or 6. (You can only double down with your first two cards)
- Double down soft 17 against a dealer's 3
- Double down soft 15 through 17 against a dealer's 4
Most players will stand on soft 18, but you may find that in the long run you will be better off to...
- Hit a soft 18 if the dealer's up card is 9, 10 or Ace
- Stand on soft 18 if the dealer's up card is 2, 7 or 8
- Double down if the dealer shows a 3, 4, 5 or 6
It's Good Blackjack Strategy to always stand on soft 19 or higher...
Blackjack - Two Types of Wins
The first type of Blackjack Win is the Meaningless Blackjack Win - The Player has, for example, 18 and the dealer has 17. The number of times you have 18 and the dealer has 17 is equal to the number of times you have 17 and the dealer has 18. What this means is that when you win at Blackjack having 18 vs. the dealer's 17 you will be giving the money back in the long run.
The second type of Blackjack Win is the Meaningful Blackjack Win - When you count the cards and at some point the "count" tells you to double down on a (say) 8 vs. the dealer's 4 because the deck(s) is "10 rich". You expect the dealer to "bust" and he does. You doubled up on a big bet, assuming the original bet was big. The odds are in your favor when the deck is "10 rich." This situation cannot be reversed, so you get to keep that money.
If you don't Count the Cards when Playing Blackjack, you don't know when the odds favor you. Therefore you don't know when to place the big bet or how to play your hand (i.e. when to double down, split or stand), therefore you are not able to exploit the Meaningful Blackjack Wins.
Blackjack - Surrender
Surrender is a great rule to have available for Blackjack Player's who know and understand how to use it wisely. Unfortunately, many Blackjack Player's surrender far too many hands, which is Poor Blackjack Strategy. Understand that in order for a surrender to cost you less than a regular loss, you must be 25% likely to win or less (not including the push). In other words, if you lose 75% of the time, and win only 25% of the time, your net loss is about 50% of your bets, equal to the amount you're guaranteed to lose by surrendering. So, take advantage of the surrender rule when Playing Blackjack, but learn to use it appropriately.
Good Basic Blackjack Surrender Strategy is, when allowed, surrender hard 15 against a dealer's 10, and 16 (but not 8's) against a dealer's 9, 10 or Ace.
Blackjack - Splitting Aces
Because Splitting Aces is a such a Strong Blackjack Strategy for the player, Blackjack Casino's restrict you to drawing only one additional card on each Ace, and if you draw a Ten or Face Card it is not considered Blackjack, but is instead treated as a normal 21 and does not collect the 3:2 odds paid out for Blackjack.
As for the Blackjack Strategy of Resplitting Aces, some Blackjack Casino's allow it while others do not.
So, is Splitting Aces a good Blackjack Basic Strategy to employ.... Always!
Blackjack - Splitting Eights
Splitting is a particularly advantageous Blackjack Playing Strategy if you're dealt two eights for a total of 16. Sixteen isn't going to stand well for a win, but it is likely to bust if you Hit. Bottom line is, 16 is the worst hand a Blackjack Player can be dealt. So, the thing to do is Split the hand into two independant hands... always!.
Blackjack - Splitting Tens
Interestly enough, one Blackjack Playing Strategy is to split any 10-valued cards, for example a Ten and a King, but this is not generally a good Blackjack Game Strategy to follow, you are better off keeping the 20 hand.
Bottom Line... Good Blackjack Basic Strategy is to never split Tens.
Infact, as a rule of thumb strategy for playing Blackjack... "Never split the "F"s: fours, fives and face cards".
Blackjack - Doubling Down
An example of Doubling Down as a Good Basic Blackjack Strategy, is when you hold a total of 11 against a dealer's upcard of say 5. In this case, you have a good chance of winning the hand by drawing one additional card, so you might as well increase your bet.
Double down on the following two card combinations:
- 9 if the dealer's up card is 3, 4, 5 or 6
- 10 if the dealer's up card is anything but a 10 or an Ace
- 11 if the dealer's up card is anything but an Ace
Blackjack
Basic Strategy to Win at The Game of Blackjack
There you have it, a Strategic Guide to Basic Blackjack Playing Strategy. Commit the above Online Blackjack Winning Strategy to memory and you'll have the ability to Play Blackjack like a seasoned Blackjack Game Player, and Win!
To learn more, go to our Comprehensive Blackjack Rules Page.
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Learn the Truth about Card Counting in Blackjack.
Online Blackjack's most FAQ's and other Blackjack Facts.
Learn the lingo with the Blackjack Help Online Blackjack Glossary.
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